A subcaliber projectile, which has a tail plane provided with fins in the rear, has been known from DE No. 35,17,125 A1. According to FIG. 2 of said document, this tail plane is inserted into the propellant cartridge case filled with powdered propellant. To increase the terminal ballistic performance, such prior-art shells are made of tungsten and are made as long as possible. The maximum length of the subcaliber projectile is limited because of the cartridge length of the barrel weapons used. This makes it necessary to insert the tail plane into the propellant charge cartridge case; as a result, only a reduced amount of a powdered propellant charge can be introduced into the cartridge case, so that such an ammunition has insufficient propellant charge energy.
A fin-stabilized subcaliber projectile has been known from DE No. 23,23,244 C3. This prior-art projectile has at its tail end a tail plane, which extends into the inside of a cartridge case.
The free rear of the tail plane rests on a cartridge cover, which separates the granular propellant charge from a tubular powder following it.
To utilize the space around the tail plane for internal ballistic purposes, a powdered propellant charge is filled according to the state of the art into the propellant charge cartridge, after which the projectile with the tail plane is cautiously twirled into the powdered propellant charge until the sabot arranged above the tail plane adjoins the mouth of the cartridge case. The cartridge is subsequently rotated through 180.degree. around the transverse axis, so that the powdered propellant charge can drop into the cavities between the fins of the tail plane, after which the arrow-tailed cartridge case base can be cautiously pressed in completely. Thus, a certain combustion chamber volume, which cannot be utilized for internal ballistic purposes, is always left, in addition to the fact that the combustion chamber volume is already reduced by the tail of the fin-stabilized projectile compared to the case of a conventional cartridge ammunition. In addition, as is shown from the above description, introduction is technically complicated.
Another disadvantage of the above-described fin-stabilized ammunition is that during the burning off of the powdered propellant charge, particles of the powdered propellant charge that have not yet burned off are thrown against the fins of the tail plane, attacking the fins mechanically, corroding or bending them.
To fire on armored targets, especially in the case of rocket warheads, cartridge type fin-stabilized sabot ammunition has been increasingly used.
In the case of this ammunition, the high requirements imposed on muzzle velocity are very often inversely proportional to the combustion chamber left in the propellant charge cartridge case after the tail of the fin-stabilized projectile with tail plane has been inserted.